President Joe Biden has stated that he does not believe walls at the border serve as a barrier for immigrants; however, his administration has announced it will construct new barriers in the Rio Grande Valley.
According to a notice published on Wednesday (4) in the Federal Register, the construction of the wall will be funded with resources that have already been appropriated and specifically designated for physical barriers at the borders. The administration had a deadline to use them or risk losing the funds.
When he was a candidate, Biden promised that “there will not be another foot” of border wall built under his command. But on Thursday (6), he defended his administration’s decision, stating that he tried to have the money appropriated for other purposes but was unsuccessful.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas emphatically stated that there has been no change in the government’s policy:
“I want to address today’s report regarding a border wall and be absolutely clear: there is no new administrative policy regarding the border wall,” Mayorkas said. “Let me repeat: there is no new administrative policy regarding the border wall.”
“We have repeatedly asked Congress to rescind this money, but it has not done so, and we are required to follow the law,” he said.
The construction of the wall will be funded through a 2019 law that channeled money specifically for a “border barrier” in the Rio Grande Valley and, according to Mayorkas, “DHS is obligated to use these funds for their intended purposes.” The funds must be spent by the end of the fiscal year 2023, which led the government to choose to move forward with construction this year in South Texas.
The Border Patrol reported nearly 300,000 apprehensions of immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley sector between October and August, according to federal data. Last month, the Border Patrol detained over 200,000 immigrants crossing the border between the U.S. and Mexico, the highest total this year.
Biden has been plagued by border issues since his early months in office when the U.S. faced a surge of unaccompanied immigrant children that surprised authorities. Over the past two years, his administration has continued to face strong resistance from Republicans – and at times, from Democrats – regarding its immigration policies.
Source: CNN